Giolito expected to start as White Sox host the Astros

Houston Astros (56-36, first in the AL West) vs. Chicago White Sox (54-36, first in the AL Central)

Chicago; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Jake Odorizzi (3-4, 3.61 ERA, .99 WHIP, 44 strikeouts) White Sox: Lucas Giolito (7-6, 4.15 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 125 strikeouts)

LINE: White Sox -111, Astros -105; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Jose Altuve and the Astros will take on the White Sox Saturday.

The White Sox are 31-15 on their home turf. The Chicago pitching staff averages 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings, Dylan Cease leads them with a mark of 11.7.

The Astros are 27-17 on the road. Houston has slugged .438 this season. Yordan Alvarez leads the team with a mark of .519.

The Astros won the last meeting 7-1. Lance McCullers Jr. earned his seventh victory and Michael Brantley went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Houston. Cease registered his fifth loss for Chicago.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Abreu leads the White Sox with 30 extra base hits and is batting .250.

Jose Altuve leads the Astros with 20 home runs and has 56 RBI.

LAST 10 GAMES: White Sox: 6-4, .276 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

Astros: 7-3, .215 batting average, 2.87 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs

INJURIES: White Sox: Evan Marshall: (elbow), Jimmy Cordero: (elbow), Luis Robert: (hip), Jake Lamb: (quad), Eloy Jimenez: (pectoral), Nick Madrigal: (hamstring), Yasmani Grandal: (calf).

Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Jose Urquidy: (arm), Brooks Raley: (health and safety protocols), Enoli Paredes: (shoulder), Josh James: (hip), Zack Greinke: (shoulder), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder), Aledmys Diaz: (hand), Alex Bregman: (hamstring).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.